2025 budget: GH¢1.5bn allocation to agric highly insufficient – Agri-Impact CEO

The Chief Executive Officer of Agri-Impact Limited, Mr. Daniel Fahene Acquaye, has raised concerns over the budgetary allocation to the agricultural sector in the 2025 national budget saying it is very insufficient.

Speaking at the 2025 Budget Digest organized by PwC in Accra, he complained that the current allocation is inadequate to drive the economic transformation envisioned by the government.

Mr. Acquaye highlighted that out of the total GH¢279 billion budget, only GH¢1.5 billion—representing 0.54%—has been allocated to agriculture.

In 2024, agriculture was allocated 2.2% of the total budget.

“The point I’m making is that the budget allocation to agriculture in this year’s budget is highly insufficient. If we see a decline in the government’s own budget allocation to agriculture—not donor funds—then we are definitely going to face challenges,” he stated.

While acknowledging the government’s introduction of the GH¢13.8 billion Big Push initiative, Mr. Acquaye questioned the absence of a detailed breakdown of allocations within the initiative.

He called for a dedicated “Big Push for Agriculture,” focusing on critical areas such as irrigation, post-harvest systems, and large-scale agricultural infrastructure.

He further emphasized the need for investment in agricultural infrastructure, arguing that institutions like the Ghana Exim Bank, GIRSAL, and the Development Bank of Ghana are supporting agribusiness but are not addressing large-scale transformative infrastructure such as irrigation systems, warehouses, and road networks.

“We have sector-specific funds like GETFund for education and COCOBOD for cocoa, but there is no dedicated fund for agriculture,” he noted.

Touching on climate change, Mr. Acquaye highlighted the vulnerability of northern Ghana, where farmers rely on a single production season. He warned that delayed rainfall in 2023 led to crop losses exceeding 90% in some areas, leaving many farmers unable to replant until the following year.

He also underscored the need for “agri-enablers” to attract young people into the sector. While Ghana has implemented policies such as free tuition for first-year tertiary students, he stressed that there must be corresponding investments in creating opportunities for skilled graduates in agriculture.

Mr. Acquaye concluded by urging the government to reconsider its budget priorities, emphasizing that without significant investment in agricultural infrastructure and enablers, the country’s economic transformation would be incomplete.